• A Game of Thrones

  • A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1
  • By: George R.R. Martin
  • Narrated by: Roy Dotrice
  • Length: 33 hrs and 46 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (144,301 ratings)

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A Game of Thrones  By  cover art

A Game of Thrones

By: George R.R. Martin
Narrated by: Roy Dotrice
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Editorial review


By Seth Hartman, Audible Editor

A GAME OF THRONES IS A MASTERFUL START TO AN EPIC DARK FANTASY

I wasn’t properly introduced to A Song of Ice and Fire until my freshman year in college. My roommate at the time was a bona fide superfan of the series—when I told him that I hadn’t yet given it a try, he could barely contain his excitement. A week after this discovery, I had already watched the first season of the television series and was hungry for more. Instead of binging the remaining seasons, I elected to crack open the first book in order to get the "definitive" experience. Even at the time, I could already tell that this series would leave a strong impact on me.

A Game of Thrones mostly follows House Stark, a noble family controlling the northern portion of the great kingdom of Westeros. Ned, the Lord of House Stark, is asked to join his old friend King Robert Baratheon in court as his new right-hand man. Shortly after arriving in the royal capital, Ned begins to unravel a conspiracy involving Queen Cersei Lannister and her family. Far to the North, Ned’s bastard son Jon Snow joins the Night’s Watch, a group of banished soldiers tasked with defending The Wall, a massive chunk of ice that keeps the mysterious White Walkers confined. To the East, a young girl named Daenerys Targaryen, the last of her line and heir to the previous regime, begins her bid for the throne with little more than a couple of dragon eggs.

While this series becomes increasingly complex book to book, the first entry is delightfully streamlined. Rather than introducing a million characters and locations, A Game of Thrones focuses on the three major families in the series, devoting a lot of time to fleshing out the main cast. On my first read, I was struck by the subversive nature of Thrones. Despite its setting, this is not a triumphant tale of knights and dragons. Rather, George R.R. Martin has created a world of betrayals and backstabs, one that values information and subterfuge far more than swords and shining armor. Veteran voice actor Roy Dotrice brings his highly adaptable voice to the audiobook, giving even more color to Martin's writing.

Continue reading Seth's review >

Publisher's summary

Now the acclaimed HBO series Game of Thrones - the masterpiece that became a cultural phenomenon

Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King's Landing. There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert's name. There his family dwells in peace and comfort: his proud wife, Catelyn; his sons Robb, Brandon, and Rickon; his daughters Sansa and Arya; and his bastard son, Jon Snow. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildings and worse - unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season. Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances. Now Robert is riding north to Winterfell, bringing his queen, the lovely but cold Cersei, his son, the cruel, vainglorious Prince Joffrey, and the queen's brothers Jaime and Tyrion of the powerful and wealthy House Lannister - the first a swordsman without equal, the second a dwarf whose stunted stature belies a brilliant mind.

All are heading for Winterfell and a fateful encounter that will change the course of kingdoms. Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Prince Viserys, heir of the fallen House Targaryen, which once ruled all of Westeros, schemes to reclaim the throne with an army of barbarian Dothraki - whose loyalty he will purchase in the only coin left to him: his beautiful yet innocent sister, Daenerys.

©1996 George R.R. Martin, (P)2003 Books On Tape, Inc., published in arrangement with Random House Audio Group,a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

  • Locus Award, 1997

"Martin's trophy case is already stuffed with major prizes...He's probably going to have to add another shelf, at least." (Publishers Weekly)

"The first volume in Martin's first fantasy saga combines intrigue, action, romance, and mystery in a family saga." (Booklist)

"Grabs hold and won't let go. It's brilliant." (Robert Jordan)

"This novel is an absorbing combination of the mythic, the sweepingly historical, and the intensely personal." (Chicago Sun-Times)

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What listeners say about A Game of Thrones

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Terrific!

I loved it! Dramatic, intriguing, captivating. Deep backgrounds, rich characters, beautiful descriptions all converge for a very satisfying experience.

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Game of thrones

Love the story, but the narration was a bit dry for my liking. Still recommend the book though!!!

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Great book, way more detailed then the HBO series.

This book is great, it gives you more of what the characters are feeling and gives you a better understanding of their relationships to each other.

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awesome story

I read the game of thrones the year it came out and loved it, I thought I would listen to the books , so many characters I actually did enjoy and got a lot out of it, for example some of the family ties that I didn't get the 1st time around, the thing that ruined it for me was the narrator, when it came to doing voices they all sounded the same, they needed a few more readers for sure

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best audio book experience I've had.

Amazing book, better than the shows, Roy Dotrice is a very talented narrator and I loved the whole thing, not a dry moment for me.

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  • RY
  • 06-02-15

Worst Narrator, but great story

The story is fantastic but the narrator is terrible and detracts from the overall story. His voices for female characters make them sound like they are eighty years old and feeble and his voices for Varys, Baelish, and Tyrion Lannister are just awful. I almost didn't finish the book because of this, but I'm glad I didn't give up because the story is very good.

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This was fantastic!

I loved every minute of this book. Roy Dotrice does a fantastic job of narrating the many characters of this world. I highly recommend!

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good stuff!1!

dotrice does a great job narrating, it truly sounds like the different characters are voiced by different people. love his enthusiasm and look forward to listening to him again.

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Better than the TV series, by far!

As someone who couldn't follow the HBO adaptation, I was hesitant.
What I found was a tightly intertwined series of stories and characters that was so much more richly described and acted! Amazingly well written and soooo mammy voices!

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why did I put off reading this for so long???

this book is fabulous. I don't know why I put off reading it for so long. if you like Ken Follett World Without End series you will love these books.

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